[diehardbbuser]

How many people are you referring to that thought the design was poor? Three? Five? Fifty?

Seriously .. Does it matter.. It's more important the percentage and general feedback from an office that uses it. It's probably representative of how the general public will receive it.

It's ok to zig zag but have a core to fall back on. Right now.. They don't. Hence why I feel stronger the classic needs to be launched and available at the same time.

[velkod]

It's true. If the passport flops who's gonna wanna buy the classic then. People will have already written off BlackBerry by that point. Same time or classic first I think

[lift]

The phone needs to be 1/2 inch narrower. I went back to the Passport today and couldn't help but walk it around again to people in the office and show it off. Really folks....these are all BlackBerry users as its standard issue at our company. Nobody wants it as their primary phone. It's too square/wide to fit in your pocket, can't take it to the gym, can't put it in your shorts...it's basically a great Phablet. Nowhere near cool enough to get people to change from Q10 to Passport...too big of a jump. Only those people who already have a personal phone and a corporate issued phone didn't care to replace their Q for passport. My bet is that it's a flop.

Posted via CB10

Hey OP, I agree with you. I started a thread a long time ago called "Passport; the short, ugly fat kid". My concerns were that the phone was ugly and too wide to be practical. I got bashed a lot for that thread. I showed pictures of the Passport to lots of friends and family and got the same response as you did. Nobody liked it and they all had negative comments about it.
I'm sorry but it's true. The phone is ugly and is not going to be accepted or liked by the general public at all. The only people that are going to buy this are the die hard BlackBerry physical keyboard fans. There aren't that many of them so I feel really bad that this is going to hurt BlackBerry in the long run.
One last point I want to make is the newspaper ad's for the Passport don't show the whole phone! Why not! Is BlackBerry afraid that the general public will form a negative opinion before the phone even officially launches?

[wincyUt]

The phone needs to be 1/2 inch narrower. I went back to the Passport today and couldn't help but walk it around again to people in the office and show it off. Really folks....these are all BlackBerry users as its standard issue at our company. Nobody wants it as their primary phone. It's too square/wide to fit in your pocket, can't take it to the gym, can't put it in your shorts...it's basically a great Phablet. Nowhere near cool enough to get people to change from Q10 to Passport...too big of a jump. Only those people who already have a personal phone and a corporate issued phone didn't care to replace their Q for passport. My bet is that it's a flop.

Posted via CB10

You are entitled to your opinion but you are talking trash. I bet you, you made up this story. Prove me wrong. I'm holding my breath.

Posted via CB10

[lerxster]

BlackBerry are not aiming this phone at the general public but at enterprise users. You know, people who want to get stuff done.

I'm intrigued by the device because I'm tired of looking at a squashed narrow screen. I seem to be always turning my Z30 over to read websites.

Looking forward to trying something different. Will be interesting to see how I cope with a holster or whether I go pocket instead.

How did you get on with typing and navigation?

Posted via CB10

[eyesopen1111]

I think the resistance to the design of the Passport has nothing to do with how atypical square phones are, but rather that the square design just isn't as useful or appealing to the overwhelming majority of smartphone buyers. Remember, there have been square smartphones before and the design has been largely abandoned by manufacturers because of unpopularity. Single-handed use? Forget it! Media consumption? Everyone seems to like 16x9 or 4x3 aspect ratio, just like in the movies.

The pre-launch chatter around the Passport has been mostly about lowering sales expectations. Some mysterious and small target market that it's worth devoting Blackberry's only flagship launch of the year to. Nonsense! BlackBerry needs hit products. If it is already understood that the Passport will not sell well, then what good could it do? Even if there is good profit per unit at a $750 retail price, it doesn't matter if the device turns out to be a sales failure and you sell few units of your only flagship device of the year! What message does that send to the market? Not a good one...

Z-30 / STA100-5 / 10.3.0.1154 / T-Mobile USA

[nycspaces.]

Thanks O/P, good to hear real world reports that sound real world. I am going to give it a shot either way but really appreciate seeing someone provide reports on the uptake from a user base who actually use bb everyday. I think for many who use their devices out of the office Passport will be a great compromise... it will be valuable to have a real keyboard with a decent screen size. I would have preferred to see a slightly narrower 4X3 tall screen but the larger 1X1 real estate will be worth the hassle of pocketing the device for many of us who work in the field, sort of the most compact tablet with a keyboard...lookout Surface!

[jersey kid]

I appreciate the good and the bad feedback on the Passport. I have a Z30 and I have already clowned my coworkers in the basement of our hospital that have a 5S, S5, and M8 with the ability to get a signal and we are all on Verizon. I welcome the Passport and I am curious to see how the Passport holds up with other phones (like my wife's Note 3) when it comes to getting things done. It seems to bang with the big boys as far as specs for those that are just concerned with specs and not what what the phone really can do for them. People are quick to spit "booty chatter" about BlackBerry until I do things like login to their web classes or web seminars faster then they can on their Android or iPhones. I'd like to see the Passport before I dismiss it. Just sayin!

[anon(3732391)]

Well, to each it's own. From every hands- on comment I've read on the net, (I'm talking a ton here) they've all expressed the complete opposite. Actually, the number one comment is how great it looks. So sure, some people will not like the look, but from what I'm gathering , they definitely do.

"BB POWERED" C001C1D66

TO EACH THEIR OWN says it all.
If you're one of those folks that has nothing or nothing much good to say.. go to a thread that is more appealing to your taste instead of wasting time with negativity.
and let those that like how different it is and aren't hung up on what other people will think of them... enjoy it!.

Besides, if you're worried about what others may think of you because of your mobile device...
you should consider seeking professional help!! (imo, of course!)

[Captain_Hilts]

The phone needs to be 1/2 inch narrower. I went back to the Passport today and couldn't help but walk it around again to people in the office and show it off. Really folks....these are all BlackBerry users as its standard issue at our company. Nobody wants it as their primary phone. It's too square/wide to fit in your pocket, can't take it to the gym, can't put it in your shorts...it's basically a great Phablet. Nowhere near cool enough to get people to change from Q10 to Passport...too big of a jump. Only those people who already have a personal phone and a corporate issued phone didn't care to replace their Q for passport. My bet is that it's a flop.

Posted via CB10

Seems like you're solely focused on how it looks rather than what it can do. Did you turn the phone on? Or did you simply walk it around your office asking people to comment on the looks? Did you try the keyboard? View/create documents? Test it out with 10.3? What did you actually DO with it?

I'll agree that aesthetics are important, but generalizing out from your office to the rest of the phone-buying public based solely on "it won't fit comfortably in my pants pockets," "it's not 'cool' enough," and "it's 1/2 an inch too wide" isn't very helpful.

Posted via CB10

[xtremez]

It will grow and on you.

Posted via CB10

The Boss has spoken!

[gibo713]

made up story I guess.. just sayin..

Posted via CB10

[ubizmo]

The phone needs to be 1/2 inch narrower. I went back to the Passport today and couldn't help but walk it around again to people in the office and show it off. Really folks....these are all BlackBerry users as its standard issue at our company. Nobody wants it as their primary phone. It's too square/wide to fit in your pocket, can't take it to the gym, can't put it in your shorts...

The Passport is roughly 3.5" x 5". In terms of width, it'll fit into all but the tiniest shirt or trousers pocket. In length, it's about the same as the Z10. The claim that the Passport won't fit into pockets simply doesn't hold up under scrutiny. As anyone who has traveled knows, an actual passport fits into shirt, jacket, or trousers pockets. It's not a problem. As for gym shorts...I don't know. The pockets on my gym shorts are no different from my regular trousers pockets, so it shouldn't be a problem there.

It probably won't fit into those generic smartphone armbands that people often use during workouts though. I'm not certain of that, because I don't have one of those and I don't know how adjustable they are. People for whom that's a major concern might need to find a different accessory, or use a different phone. My point here is that, setting aside the question of aesthetics, the claim that the Passport is unpocketable is just wrong. I suspect BlackBerry chose the dimensions of a Passport, as well as the name, precisely because they understood that passports are carried in pockets, and people know that.

[comwave]

Hey OP, I agree with you. I started a thread a long time ago called "Passport; the short, ugly fat kid". My concerns were that the phone was ugly and too wide to be practical. I got bashed a lot for that thread. I showed pictures of the Passport to lots of friends and family and got the same response as you did. Nobody liked it and they all had negative comments about it.
I'm sorry but it's true. The phone is ugly and is not going to be accepted or liked by the general public at all. The only people that are going to buy this are the die hard BlackBerry physical keyboard fans. There aren't that many of them so I feel really bad that this is going to hurt BlackBerry in the long run.
One last point I want to make is the newspaper ad's for the Passport don't show the whole phone! Why not! Is BlackBerry afraid that the general public will form a negative opinion before the phone even officially launches?

Because their Ad agency too one look at the phone said "you must be kidding" .

I'm telling you all, holding it in one hand and keying anything is impossible. Yes...it fits into pockets, but it's...well big.

It's a real performer in every sense and for sure beats the competitors in business functionality. But we all need more than just business and a great keyboard in our phone. We'll now we have Apps...so really I guess I can compare it to the ugly Ferrari FF; incredible performer in every sense, split peoples opinion on aesthetics and because of that, sells to small subset of Ferrari enthusiasts and never garnered any new customers to the brand....one more thing, Oddly enough the camera image was off and more yellow and less natural compared to my Q10.

Posted via CB10

[BGRS]

Maybe it will grow on me. Does it really need to be that way?

Posted via CB10

No, it does not need to be this way. If they think someone will spend $800 and wait until it grows on them, then they must be delusional not to mention way to risky at this stage of the company.We had so many beautiful device concepts by BB enthusiasts here on crackberry in the past but they came up with this instead? I am sure there would be some sale but what they need now is TONS and TONS of sale.

[dayno25]

How can a phone be sexy?? Does it go down on you??

Anthropomorphism

[eyesopen1111]

Anthropomorphism

If the Passport were a woman, it'd be like some ugly, brainy fat chick that you took out on a date either because she helps with work or because you have a misguided sense of loyalty to her family.

Z-30 / STA100-5 / 10.3.0.1154 / T-Mobile USA

[newcollector]

If the Passport were an American football player, he would be the powerful and speedy running back who you can rely on to get it done! When the chips are down and everyone else is running low on power, he is till churning up the yardage.

[lang007]

The issues is that player will never get picked off wavers until the season is over and by then he will not be needed. That at is what BB is doing to us by waiting so long to release the phone also that is why carriers do not want to sell the phone. They wait to long to release them and by then everyone besides the hardcore BB users have gotten a new phone

If the Passport were an American football player, he would be the powerful and speedy running back who you can rely on to get it done! When the chips are down and everyone else is running low on power, he is till churning up the yardage.

[bbzak]

To each, his own!

I laid my hands on a test device and I felt the Passport is quiet a serious device.
Somehow, I like the uniqueness and the 'built for purpose' looks and feel.
As far as others are considered, I dont have to worry what they feel and see on my device.

The general public, driven by the so called 'cool' smart phones, they care more about what others think rather than what himself/herself is happy and comfortable with.
Sorry, they can hitch hike and stay away from the 'brick'! LOL!!

[lerxster]

I find "fat, ugly, brainy" women to be far more interesting than thin, pretty, vacant ones... just sayin

Posted via CB10

[tonythecanuck]

The Z30 is fantastic and I'm sure a Z50 would be even better!

Posted using my BlackBerry Z30.

[lift]

I find "fat, ugly, brainy" women to be far more interesting than thin, pretty, vacant ones... just sayin

"Interesting". Not attractive or appealing. "Interesting". That's not going to make me ask her out for a date.

[dejanh]

Did anybody in this thread care to point out that 24 hours with any device, including the dead-simple iPhone is not enough to judge it? I'm not discounting that the Passport may not be for everyone, but I think that any impression after 24 hours isn't worth sharing.

Posted via CB10

[mifinn]

I am in love with this device. The gorgeous looking massive sharp screen is AWESOME. You guys need to use it to believe it. Sound is way louder than Z30 and crystal clear

I Love it.

Posted via CB10